A friend like you
by Periwinkle Starfish
Summary: After an argument with Nixie, Lyla goes for a swim, and accidentally injures herself. Nixie was able to find Lyla, but her injury leaves her in critical condition. Nixie stays right by Lyla's side the whole time to make sure she's ok. Lyla later realizes that even though her and Nixie have thier ups and downs, she's lucky to have a friend like Nixie.
1. The fight

Hello! This is my first fan fiction, so I hope you enjoy! In this story, Nixie and Lyla have an argument, so Lyla goes for a swim and accidentally injures herself. Nixie was fortunate to find Lyla, and saves her life. Lyla's injury keeps her in critical condition, and Nixie is there every minute to help her get back to health. Lyla finds that even though they have their differences, she's lucky to have a friend like Nixie.

Chapter 1: The fight.

~At Rita's~

"I can't believe you would say such a thing! Are you crazy?" Nixie scolded Lyla for her wondering if she should stay on land like Rita.

"It was just an idea, ok? I like it here." Lyla replied, trying to establish a point. Even though she was reluctant to leave the sea to remove Zac's powers, she soon found herself not wanting to leave.

"We only came on land to remove Zac's powers. As soon as they're gone, we can go back where we belong." As Nixie continued to argue with the taller blonde mermaid, Sirena happened to walk in.

"Goodness, what are you two bickering about now? I thought you two were getting along." Nixie wasted no time in telling Sirena about the idea that Lyla innocently came up with.

"Lyla told me that she's thinking of staying on land. We don't even belong here." Sirena gasped.

"What? Lyla, I thought that you wanted the pod back! I mean, that's why we came here." Sirena explained. Yes, Sirena had grown attached to land as well with her job at the Ocean Cafe and all of the wonderful people she had met, but she dearly missed Aquata. Sirena knew that the pod would return as soon as Zac's powers were gone.

"Sirena, I don't care how Nixie puts it, but it was just a dumb idea!, ok?" Lyla started to get a bit angry with the other two mermaids. Of course, Nixie ignored Lyla asking to leave the topic alone, and put two and two together.

"Oh no... please don't tell me that this has anything to do with, oh, I don't know... Zac, maybe?" Nixie smirked as she asked the question. Meanwhile, Lyla was going to leap into the moon pool, but that question of Nixie's just stopped her in her tracks. Zac in fact had a roll in why Lyla wanted to stay on land. There was no way she was going to admit it, but she had fallen for him, and it would break her heart if she had to leave land. Lyla turned to Nixie, who was still smirking. Lyla had never been so angry at Nixie before. If only she could mind her own business.

"Nixie, we are done with this subject. I'm going for a swim." Lyla ran from the moon pool and dashed out of Rita's front door instead.

"Lyla, please come back!" Sirena pleaded as Lyla ran from the two girls. On her way out, Lyla bumped into Rita, who seemed startled as to why Lyla was running.

"Slow down, Lyla. Is anything wrong?" Rita asked, confused as to why Lyla was running out of her house.

"It's nothing, Aunt Rita." Lyla replied before continuing to run. She didn't know where she was going, Lyla jumped off of a nearby dock, and swam into some waters she wasn't familiar with. She just wanted to get away from Nixie, and clear her mind. Not recognizing the reef she was in, Lyla just assumed that she would eventually find a way out. Tired from swimming at 600 Km an hour for a few minutes straight, Lyla slowed down to take a breather. As she surfaced, she couldn't see where the Gold Coast beach was. Mako Island seemed like a tiny speck in the horizon, and she was totally lost.

"Great... how on Earth am I going to get back-" all of the sudden, Lyla was violently dragged down from the surface of the water, and felt a horrendous amount of pain in her tail fluke. Lyla felt extremely dizzy, and closed her eyes as the pain got worse. The shark that had grabbed a hold of her tail left Lyla since her tail didn't suit his taste. An unconscious Lyla slowly sank to the Ocean floor.

Hi! This is Periwinkle Starfish, readers! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my very first story! If you have any requests (pairings, events, etc.) Please leave a review! Thank you so much! 3


	2. The rescue

Wow, I'm happy to say that in the mere hours that I posted the first chapter, I got two very nice reviews! And I'd also like to thank **KittyCatLove123** for giving me a warm welcome to fan fiction, so this chapter is for you!

Chapter 2- Rescue

~Meanwhile at Rita's~

"Nixie, if it was just an idea, then why would you react like she was serious?" Sirena asked Nixie as if she was her own child.

"Geez, would you just calm down? I was just wondering..." Nixie trailed off.

"I honestly think we'll be staying on land for awhile, anyways. Zac's our friend now, Nixie." Meanwhile, Rita was really trying not to panic, but she was worried for Lyla's safety. She had been gone for over an hour.

"I'd really appreciate if you girls wouldn't argue. We have no idea where Lyla is." Rita shifted in her seat, "she could be in danger, and we don't even know it." With those words, Sirena became very worried.

"We need to find her! I'll head to Mako, and Rita will-"

"I'll find her." Nixie sighed, "it's my fault she ran off on us." Rita smiled.

"Thank you, Nixie. That's very kind of you to do. But please hurry, because it's getting dark." Nixie dove into the moon pool, and sped off in a random direction. Slowly, Nixie started to feel guilty for what she said, and instantly became very motivated to find her friend. With the sun setting, Nixie was thankful that she could speak dolphin. She asked a small pod of dolphins about Lyla, and they pointed her in the direction they saw her go. Within a few minutes, Nixie came upon the sight of Lyla lying on the Ocean floor unconscious. She saw her tail fluke, and how it was wounded. Nixie could tell that a shark had bitten her, and rushed to get her friend back to Rita's.

"What have I done..." Nixie thought as she sped towards Mako. Exhausted, Nixie arrived at the moon pool with Sirena, Rita, and Zac waiting for her.

"Oh my goodness..." Sirena teared up as she saw Lyla's pale face.

~Later~

Nixie and Lyla were back in their human forms, and Rita tried to wake her up using her moon ring.

"Rita, I'm feeling her pulse, but she's not waking up." Zac said after placing two fingers on Lyla's wrist. Nixie paced about the room.

"This is all my fault! If I had only kept my mouth shut, I-" Lyla woke up, and started coughing to get the small amount of water in her lungs.

"Lyla! You're alright!" Sirena hugged Lyla as soon as she sat up.

"Owww! My leg!" Lyla cringed at the pain in her left leg. Nixie took a look at it and saw how swollen it was.

"Lyla, you might have to go to the hospital. Rita thinks you might have broke a bone." Zac said. Lyla seemed a bit shocked.

"Zac, I'm fine. I bet I can walk on it, see-" as Lyla got up and tried to walk, she instantly fell, and made the small crack in her bone worse. Lyla screamed in pain.

"It's worse now!" Lyla cried.

"Hold on, I'm going to get the car, and I need all of you to help her get in." Rita frantically grabbed her keys, and went outside and started her car.

"Lyla, you're going to be fine. Trust me." Zac picked her up, and headed to the car.

"Thank you-oww!" Lyla exclaimed as Zac set her down in the back of Rita's car.

"That looks really bad. We better get over there as soon as we can!" Sirena hopped in the back of the car with Zac and Lyla. Nixie came in as well, and Rita drove to the hospital as fast as she could without getting pulled over.

~At the hospital~

"Thank goodness you got her here in time!" Said one of the doctors, "she has a crack in her calf bone. It's a good thing we got her in a cast as soon as we could." Lyla stared at the thick, uncomfortable plaster cast.

"I hate this..." Lyla sighed.

"It's better than being in pain, Lyla." Sirena spoke up. Through this time, she was very quiet as usual. But Nixie felt bad about this whole thing.

"Sirena's right. I don't want to see you in pain, Lyla." Nixie swallowed the lump in her throat. She was about to cry. Lyla saw it as strange for Nixie to almost cry, but she knew that she felt bad about this.

"Nix, don't feel bad. It was my decision to-"

"It's my fault, anyways. I-I'm really sorry." Nixie walked out of the room, and completely broke down, "if I wasn't so harsh, Lyla would be ok!"

"Poor thing. I'll go talk to her." Sirena went out of the room to talk to Nixie, "Don't cry, Nixie."

"Tears won't give a tail. Leave me alone." Nixie managed to say in between sobs.

"Nixie." Sirena said a bit more serious, "this isn't your fault. Lyla isn't even mad at you. Now, let's head home. Rita just finished filling out a few papers. They gave Lyla crutches, but Zac insisted on carrying her to the car. Rita put her keys in the ignition, and drove back home.

Well, this was long... but I had fun typing it! Please leave a review if you would like, and I'll see about updating soon! If you want to, feel free to leave a request :) I'll fit it into the story as best as I can! ~Periwinkle Starfish


	3. The idea

Hi there! I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

Rita pulled her car into the driveway, and helped Lyla out of the car.

"I have to wear this thing for how long?" Lyla asked as she managed to stand.

"Probably for a few weeks. I'm not very happy about it myself either, but at least you're going to be fine." Rita replied as she got Lyla's crutches out of the trunk, "I once sprained my ankle, and I had to move around on these for a while." Zac had woken up Nixie and Sirena, (they had obviously fallen asleep in the car) and they took notice of the strange things Rita was holding.

"What are those, Aunt Rita?" Sirena asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"These are crutches. When humans break a bone, or sprain their ankle or something like that, they use these. I was just telling Lyla that I had to use these once." Rita placed them under her arms, and walked around with them.

"What? I could never use those! I would fall, and break another bone!" Lyla exclaimed.

"Lyla, if Rita had to use these herself years ago, then you can learn too. I bet it's not that difficult." Nixie commented as Rita continued to walk around the driveway with the crutches.

"Ok Nixie, you try it." Rita handed them to Nixie. Nixie copied Rita, and she hopped around for a minute or two as the others watched.

"This is actually kind of fun! Can I keep these?" Nixie asked, entertained by walking a different way.

"Well, I guess you can keep playing with them until tomorrow. I'll teach Lyla how to use them." Rita offered as she watched Nixie walk inside the house, still using the crutches.

"How am I going to get inside the house?" Lyla asked.

"Don't worry, I've got you." Zac picked up Lyla, and carried her in the house. Sirena smiled, she knew there was a spark between them.

~Later~

"Alright, so is 10:00 ok for tomorrow? I was hoping you could help Lyla swim." Rita offered, looking through a planner.

"Hmm... I don't think I could make it. Evie wanted us to go biking." Zac replied.

"Why don't you invite her along? She already knows the secret anyways. It may be good for her to stay connected with us." Rita offered.

"I don't think she'll be up for it. She's still kind of..." Zac paused, and tried to find the right word, "she's still kind of shocked about the whole mermaid thing."

"Alright... I'll try and sort this out tomorrow." Rita replied. Zac left, and everyone went to sleep.

~The very next day (bum bum ba bum ba da bum-The Duck Song)~

Rita had woken up early as usual, and made some coffee. A few moments later, Sirena woke up, and headed into the kitchen to say good morning to Rita.

"Good morning, Aunt Rita." Sirena sweetly greeted she prepared herself a cup of tea.

"Hello Sirena, how are you?" Rita asked.

"I'm doing quite well... and I did want to talk to you about something." Sirena replied, "its about Nixie."

"Nixie? Oh, is she not wanting to give up the crutches?" Rita joked.

"No, it's just that I was a bit worried about her. She really feels bad about this whole thing. She thinks that Lyla breaking her leg is her own fault." Sirena stirred her tea, and added some honey. (I wonder how Sirena makes her tea so quickly)

"Maybe she'll feel better if she helps out a bit-wait, I have an idea!" Rita smiled as she thought of a great idea.

Ok, not much happened in this chapter, I know... but next chapter, it'll have a lot more going on. If you'd like to see any pairings, or have anything else happen, feel free to review! And thank you to all of the awesome feedback that keeps me writing! ~Periwinkle Starfish


	4. Lyla's coaching

I'm so sorry that I haven't updated this story in a while! But, here you all go my lovely readers :D

~Periwinkle Starfish

"What's your idea, Aunt Rita?" Sirena curiously asked.

"I remember when I sprained my ankle, I could barely swim. Even though I was kicked out of the pod, I still had a few friends from the pod who also got legs, but they were a bit more secretive about it so they never got caught like I did. Anyways, my friends can help Lyla swim strongly again like they helped me. In fact, they're both doctors now." Rita recalled. Sirena smiled.

"Aunt Rita, that sounds great! What are their names?"

"Melissa, and Angeline. We were great friends growing up." Rita smiled at the memories of her and her friends in teenage years, "I better give them a call." Rita picked up the phone, and dialed the number to the doctor's office as Lyla walked in with Zac, who was teaching her to use crutches. Lyla had surprisingly become successful at using them.

"Zac, what a surprise! I thought you went biking with Evie." Rita stated as the phone rang.

"I told Evie about Lyla, and she thought it would be best if I came over to help." Zac replied.

"Well, that'll be good, we'll have extra help." Rita was still waiting for the mermaids to pick up the phone, "I've called up a few friends from my old pod who also live on land, and they'll coach Lyla to help her swim better-hello? Oh, hi! It's Rita. I've been fine, but I need to ask you something. I was wondering if..." Rita continued her conversation with one of the other mermaids on the other line. Nixie finally woke up, and came into the grotto.

"Good morning!" Sirena greeted Nixie as she rubbed her eyes.

"Morning, Sirena. How are you feeling, Lyla?" Nixie asked, taking a look at Lyla's bulky cast.

"I'm fine, thanks." Lyla also returned a glance at her cast, "please don't feel bad."

"I'm still sorry." Nixie looked to the floor.

"It was never your fault-"

"Great, thanks!" Rita hung up, interrupting the small quarrel between Lyla and Nixie, "Lyla, I have great news!"

"I get to take this thing off?" Lyla came closer to Rita using the crutches.

"I have a few friends from my old pod who are doctors now. They also live on land, and they are going to coach you. When I sprained my ankle, they helped me start swimming again, and I think they can help you too." Rita explained, setting down her phone.

"Won't I drown in this thing? It's a million pounds." Lyla sighed.

"You'll be fine, Lyla." Nixie slightly smiled.

"Yeah, we'll all be here to help you." Sirena added. Lyla smiled. The doorbell rang, and Rita answered it.

"Hi girls, come on in!" Rita invited Melissa and Angeline inside.

"It's been forever since I've been here." Melissa commented.

"How's Poseidon? The last time I saw him, he was a cute little kitty!" Angeline exclaimed.

"He's all grown up now. You'll see him soon. Rita lead the two to her grotto.

"Girls, this is Melissa, and this is Angeline." Rita gestured to the two mermaids around her age. Melissa had blue eyes, and black hair, and Angeline had green eyes, and red-brown hair. The girls and Zac waved.

"This is Lyla, Nixie, and Sirena." Rita introduced the girls, "this is Zac, and he's the merman I told you about." The mermaid-doctors nodded.

"Don't worry, we don't think you're harmful to the pod. The pod members just don't have open minds." Melissa shook her head.

"That's a relief. I'm just here to help, today." Zac replied.

"Good, because we're gonna need some." Angeline added, examining Lyla, and that she had already gotten used to the crutches, "how did you learn to use crutches so fast, Lyla? It took Rita a few days to get used to them."

"Zac taught me this morning. It's still a bit hard, though." Lyla answered.

"Aww! That's so sweet!" Angeline smiled, "I wish I had a boyfriend like that. You're lucky!"

"What?" Lyla blushed, turning to Zac, who also seemed shocked. She didn't want Zac to find out about her crush on him, and Zac was just as concerned about Lyla finding out about his feelings for her.

"Aren't you together?" Melissa came into the conversation.

"No. Why do you ask?" Zac hoped this conversation would end.

"You look SO cute together!" Melissa commented, "you guys seem close."

"Um, we're just friends." Zac stated, hoping no questions were to be asked.

"Really? I've seen you two holding hands on a few occasions." Sirena innocently added.

"Er...can we start my coaching?" Lyla tried to change the subject.

"Oh yeah, sure. Sorry we got carried away." Melissa and Angeline got ready to go, as did the rest.

~At the beach~

"Alright Lyla, show us what you can do!" Melissa watched as Lyla stepped in the waves, and gained her golden tail. She tried to swim off normally, but got a sharp pain in her tail fluke.

"I can't!" Lyla yelled from neck high water, "my fin hurts too much!"

"She was bitten by a shark, so that's why it hurts her so much." Nixie spoke up.

"How do you know?" Angeline wondered.

"I was the one who saved her...and I also made her run away." Nixie sighed, she stared at the sapphire waves.

"Nix, this was never your fault." Zac denied Nixie to blame herself.

"Lyla even said it herself. Many times, in fact." Sirena chimmed in. Nixie remained silent.

"Lyla, see if you can swim back, and we'll start your coaching!" Melissa yelled to Lyla from the shore, careful not to step on the shoreline.

How'd you all like this chapter? I worked hard on it, and I really hoped you liked it! Love you guys!

~Periwinkle Starfish


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